Protective container for spools of elongated material



L. B. ROSEN March 14, 1967 PROTECTIVE CONTAINER FOR SPOOLS OF ELONGATEDMATERIAL Filed Oct. 25, 1965 FIG I INVENTOR Leonard B. Rosen ATTORNEYSUnited States Patent 3,308,937 PRGTECTIVE CONTAHNER FOR SPOOLS 0FELONGATED MATERIAL Leonard B. Rosen, RJ). 2, Jamestown, Pa. 16134 Filed()et. 23, 1965, Ser. No. 503,474 6 (Ilaims. ((31. 20652) This inventionrelates to a container for spools of convolutely wound material andrelates more particularly to a protective container for storage andhandling of cone-type spools of thread or the like.

The elongated material with which the instant invention is concerned maytake many forms, the more common for use in commerce generally beingspools of textile thread, yarn, string, cord, rope and wire although forthe most part, the cone-type spools are usually utilized for carryingthread or yarn. The term conetype spools does not necessarily mean thatthe spool itself, whether empty or full, takes the form of a cone, butthis designation is intended to describe a spool having a central coreupon which the elongated material is wound with a flange memberextending outwardly from the core at one end of the spool and acontinuation of the core extending beyond the wound elongated materialat the other end of the spool. In some instances, the spool itself maybe substantially conical and the flange member may amount to little morethan an offset portion. Generally, however, the core is substantiallycylindrical and the elongated material is convolutely wound thereon withthe portion of the material adjacent the continuation of the core beinggenerally conical in shape.

Spools of the type described are frequently utilized as bobbins in themanufacture of a textile from a filamentary material. In such instancesthe spools are frequently formed from a plastic material and arere-usable. However, the spool with which the container of the instantinvention is adapted to function may be formed of any suitable materialand may be reusable or disposable. Wooden spools, for example, areconventionally used for carrying thread for use with home sewingmachines and the instant inventive concept is equally applicable to suchconstructions.

One of the principal problems which have been encountered with suchspools of elongated material is that of dirt and soilage. For example,in handling of such spools during packing or shipment thereof theelongated material may come in contact with dirt or dust from thesurrounding area. Further, with those materials which are displayed forcommercial sale, frequent handling by the store personnel and byprospective customers may well soil the elongated material. Similarly,spools of thread, for example, displayed on an open counter will collectdust over an extended period of time. Finally, even after the spool hasreached the ultimate user, the elongated material may become dirtyduring storage or use. This is particularly evident in small spools ofthread and the like when only a portion of the material is utilized atone time and the partially depleted spool is retained for further use.

The accumulation of dirt and dust on the elongated material during anyof the ordinary handling procedures encountered by the same, tends toproduce an unslightly and unattractive appearance. Further, the materialitself may be discolored or deteriorated by the dirt. Thus, with asewing or textile manufacturing operation, the exterior winds of thethread or yarn may be discolored while the interior windings remainclean and retain their original color and appearance. This will cause achange of color as the soiled exterior is used up and the clean interioris dispensed.

A further ditficulty encountered with the use of prior art spoolconstructions is the manner of severing the elongated material andretaining the remaining material in a neatly wound condition upon thespool. With spools of thread it has been common to provide a notch inthe flange of the spool which will receive the thread and retain thesame to facilitate the severing operation. In repeated use the woodforming the notch has a tendency to break whereby the thread will tendto unwind from the spool and become tangled. In this manner, asubstantial quantity of thread may be wasted.

Prior art attempts toprotect the wound material from damage,discoloration or soilage have generally been limited to packaging meansfor housing small spools of thread for home use or the like. Such meansare ordinarily destroyed when the spool is removed therefrom by theultimate consumer and thus, they will in no way protect the elongatedmaterial during use or during storage of a partially depleted spool.

Consistent with the above, it is therefore a primary object of thisinvention to provide a container for spools of elongated material whichis free from the foregoing and other disadvantages.

In this regard, it is an important object of the instant" invention toprovide a container for use with ffconetype spools which will encase theelongated material and protect the same during handling. Further, inthis regard, the container of the instant invention may remain inprotecting relationship with regard to the elongated material duringultimate use of the material. Thus, the elongated material may bedispensed from within the container and a partially depleted spoolreadily resealed for subsequent storage.

Yet another object of the present invention is the provision of a spooland container combination wherein the spool may be readily inserted forstorage and bandling, readily released or removed for dispensing of theelongated material and readily re-inserted into the container forfurther storage and handling.

Still another basic object of this invention is to provide a containerfor cone-type spools of elongated material which is sturdy and durablein construction, efilcient and reliable in operation, and relativelyinexpensive to manufacture and utilize.

Other and further objects reside in the combination of elements,arrangement of parts and features of construction.

Still other objects will in part be obvious and in part be pointed outas a description of the invention proceeds and as shown in theaccompanying drawing wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a vertical cross-section view through a prefered form ofcontainer in accordance with the instant inventive concept with acone-type spool of elongated material protectively encased thereby,parts of the spool and of the elongated material being broken away forillustrative clarity;

FIGURE 1A is a vertical cross-sectional View similar to FIGURE 1 of amodified relationship between the spool and container;

FIGURE 1B is a perspective view, to a smaller scale, of yet anothermodified form of spool and container combinati-on;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the modification ofFIGURE 1 showing the spool released for dispensing of the elongatedmaterial therefrom; and

FIGURE 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the modification ofFIGURE 1 with the spool having been removed from the container, invertedand reinserted into the container for an alternate dispensingarrangement.

Like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the severalviews of the drawing.

Referring now to the drawing, and more particularly to FIGURE 1, apreferred form of container and spool combination in accordance with theinstant inventionis designated generally by the reference numeral andcomprises basically one form of cone-type spool 12 have elongatedmaterial 14 'convolutely wound thereon randa container 16 receiving thespool of wound material therewithin.

As mentioned previously the spool itself may take many conventionalforms and may be formed of any suitable material. In any event, thespool has a central core 18 ordinarily having a bore 243 therewithinextending the full length of the spool. A flange member 22 extendsoutwardly from one end of the core 18 a distance greater than theexterior layer ofthe elongated material 14 ona full spool. Further, thespool includes a continuation 24 of the core 18 which extends'beyond thewound elongated material 14. Although FIGURE'l illustrates thiscontinuation in the form of a slightly flared portion, it may merelytake the form of a slight continuous extension of the core beyond theconical portion 26 of the elongated material.

The container 16 comprises'a substantially continuous,

hollow wall 28 which surrounds the spool 12'and ex-' tends in spaced,protective, overlying relationship to the elongated material 14. Thelower end of the wall 28 is preferably substantially closed by a bottommember 30 which includes portions forming an aperture 32 dimensioned toreceive the continuation 24 of the core 18 of the spool 12 therethrough.The upper end of the wall 28 is substantially open and includes agripping means in theform of an opening 34 formed by an inwardlydirected annular element 36, the. opening 34 substantially correspondingin shape to the cross-sectional configura-. tion of the flange member 22of the spool 12 whereby theber 22 of the spool is engaged by thegripping means 34,

the continuation 24 of the core 18 of the spool extends into theaperture 32 in the bottom member 30 of the container and terminatessubstantially flush with the lower surface of the bottom member. flangemember 22 from its gripping relationship by the annular element 36 maythen be readily accomplished by merely engaging the continuation 24through the aperture 32and pressing the entire spool 12 upwardly asshown in FIGURE 2. In this manner, the free end 38 of the elongatedmaterial 14 may be grasped and the elongated material maybe dispensedwithout removing the spool from the container. With this arrangement,the spool will rotate within the container during use, but at least themajor portion of the elongated material will be protectively encased bythe wall 28 of the container.

Alternatively, an additional gripping means in the form of an opening 40defined in an additional inwardly diw rected annular element 42 adjacentthe bottom member 30 may be utilized to retain the spool 12 within thecontainer 16 by removing and reinserting the spool as shown in FIGURE 3.With this arrangement the elongated material 14- will merely bewithdrawn over the continuation 24 of the core 18 of the spool while theadditional gripping means retains the spool in a position wherethe elon-It is to be understood that in Release of the gated material is at leastsubstantially protected by the wall 28 of the container during use. Ofcourse, a partially depleted spool may be again reversed and sealedwithin the container in the manner of FIGURE 1.

It is to be noted that the free end 38 of the elongated material 14 islocked between the flange member 22 of the spool 12 and thegrippingmeans 34 when the spool has been completely inserted into thecontainer as shown in FIGURE 1 whereby undesirable unwinding of theelongatedv material during storage Willi be precluded. Further,presuming the elongated material to be relatively Weak such as is commonintextile threads, this grip ping relationship of the free end 38 may beutilized to facilitate severing the previously. dispensed portion bymerely tearing the same at the point where it is held between the flangemember. of the spool and the gripping means of the container.

Dispensing of the elongated material 14 either according to thearrangementof FIGURE 2 or according to the arrangement of FIGURE 3 maytake place with the entire spool and container combination beingrotatably supported by a spindle (not shown) of a conventional sewing ortextile manufacturing apparatus. Of course, in addition to utilizing thespool and container combination for dispensing as shown in either FIGURE2 or FIGURE 3, the spool may be removed entirely from the containerduring the dispensing operatiom if desired.

Although the container 16 may be formed ofany suitable material,apreferred form of the same utilizes a transparentplastic or the likematerial whereby the spool of wound material may be visually inspectedWithout removing the same from the container to determine the color,type or quantity of elongated material carried by the spool.

A slightly modified embodiment of the spool and container combination isillustrated in :FIGURE'IA wherein parts similarto the embodiments ofFIGURE 1 are designated by the same reference numeral followed by thesutfix a. In this embodiment, the spool and container are so dimensionedwith respect to each other that the continuation 24a of the core ofthespool eXtends through and beyond the aperture 32a of the bottommember 300 of the container whereby release of the spool from grippingrelationship with the container may be readily ac-. complished merely byengaging the .continuation 24a against a flattened surface and pressingthe container downwardly with respect thereto in an obvious manner.Although this arrangement has been shown by illustrating a largercontinuation24a than in the embodiment of FIGURE 1, it will be seen thatthesame relationship can be provided in other manners such as, forexample, utilizing a thinner bottom wall 3011 or less elongated material14a.

Another slightly, modified embodiment is shown in FIG- URE 1B .whereinparts similar ,to. the embodiment of FIGURE 1 are designated generallyby the .same reference numerals followed by the sufiix .b. In theembodiment ofFIGURE 1B the upper end of the wall'28b includes slit 44extending partially downward to provide the upper end with sufiicientflexibility to preclude undue binding of the flangemember 22b of thespool during insertion of'.

the same. Of course, if the material of the container is. suflicientlyflexible to avoid such a difliculty, the slit 44 can be dispensed with.However, this arrangement is:

It is believed that the use and operation of the various modificationsof the instant inventive concept is selfexplanatory from the detaileddescription of the same.

appearing hereinabove. In any event, it will now be seen thatithereisherein provided an improved container for spools or elongated materialwhich satisfies all of the objectives. of the instant invention,-andothers, including many advantages of great practical utility andcommercial importance.

Since many embodiments may be made of the instant,

inventive concept, and since many modifications may be made of theembodiments hereinbefore shown and described, all matter herein is to beinterpreted merely as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.Accordingly, what is claimed is:

1. In combination, a spool having a central core, a flange memberextending from said core at one extremity of said core, an elongatedmaterial wound on said core with the exterior layer of said materialextending outwardly from said core a distance less than the periphery ofsaid flange member, and a continuation of said core extending beyondsaid elongated material at the other extremity of said core, thecross-sectional area of said continuation being smaller than thecross-sectional area of said flange member, a container receiving saidspool and including a substantially continuous wall, said wall having anopen upper end and a lower end spaced therefrom, a bottom member securedto said lower end of said wall, said bottom member having portionsforming an aperture corresponding in size and shape to thecrosssectional configuration of said continuation and slidinglyreceiving said continuation, said wall having portions at said openupper end defining an opening corresponding in size and shape to thecross-sectional configuration of said flange member, said opening beinglarger than said aperture and said portions defining said openingfrictionally engaging the periphery of said flange member to removablysecure said spool Within said container with the remander of said wallin spaced, protective, overlying relationship to said elongatedmaterial.

2. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein said wall includes aninwardly directed annular element carried by said wall and forming saidopening whereby said annular element frictionally engages said flangemember in gripping relationship.

3. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein said container is sodimensioned with respect to said spool that when said flange member ofsaid spool is engaged by said portions of said wall, said continuationof said core of said spool extends through and beyond said aperture insaid bottom member. I

4. The combination defined in claim 2 wherein said annular element iscarried by said upper end of said wall and wherein said containerincludes an additional inwardly directed annular element inside saidlower end of said wall adjacent said bottom member, said additionalannular element forming an opening substantially corresponding in sizeand shape to the cross-sectional configuration of said flange member ofsaid spool whereby said spool may be inverted and reinserted into saidcontainer with said additional annular element engaging said flangemember to retain said spool within said container during withdrawal ofsaid elongated material through said open upper end of said wall.

5. The combination defined in claim 4 wherein said wall includes a slitextending partially downward from said upper end to provide said upperend with suflicient flexibility to preclude undue binding of said flangemember of said spool during reinsertion in an inverted position.

6. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein said wall of saidcontainer is at least partially transparent to permit visual inspectionof said spool therethrough.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 637,941 11/ 1899Peters. 1,716,249 6/1929 Taylor 206-59 2,515,669 7/1950 Scholl 206522,550,927 5/1951 Jurnove 242l38 2,554,615 5/1951 Dahle 242--l46 LOUIS G.MANCENE, Primary Examiner.

1. IN COMBINATION, A SPOOL HAVING A CENTRAL CORE, A FLANGE MEMBEREXTENDING FROM SAID CORE AT ONE EXTREMITY OF SAID CORE, AN ELONGATEDMATERIAL WOUND ON SAID CORE WITH THE EXTERIOR LAYER OF SAID MATERIALEXTENDING OUTWARDLY FROM SAID CORE A DISTANCE LESS THAN THE PERIPHERY OFSAID FLANGE MEMBER, AND A CONTINUATION OF SAID CORE EXTENDING BEYONDSAID ELONGATED MATERIAL AT THE OTHER EXTREMITY OF SAID CORE, THECROSS-SECTIONAL AREA OF SAID CONTINUATION BEING SMALLER THAN THECROSS-SECTIONAL AREA OF SAID FLANGE MEMBER, A CONTAINER RECEIVING SAIDSPOOL AND INCLUDING A SUBSTANTIALLY CONTINUOUS WALL, SAID WALL HAVING ANOPEN UPPER END AND A LOWER END SPACED THEREFROM, A BOTTOM MEMBER SECUREDTO SAID LOWER END OF SAID WALL, SAID BOTTOM MEMBER HAVING PORTIONSFORMING AN APERTURE CORRESPONDING IN SIZE AND SHAPE TO THECROSSSECTIONAL CONFIGURATION OF SAID CONTINUATION AND SLIDINGLYRECEIVING SAID CONTINUATION, SAID WALL HAVING PORTIONS AT SAID OPENUPPER END DEFINING AN OPENING CORRESPONDING IN SIZE AND SHAPE TO THECROSS-SECTIONAL CONFIGURATION OF SAID FLANGE MEMBER, SAID OPENING BEINGLARGER THAN SAID APERTURE AND SAID PORTIONS DEFINING SAID OPENINGFRICTIONALLY ENGAGING THE PERIPHERY OF SAID FLANGE MEMBER TO REMOVABLYSECURE SAID SPOOL WITHIN SAID CONTAINER WITH THE REMANDER OF SAID WALLIN SPACED, PROTECTIVE, OVERLYING RELATIONSHIP TO SAID ELONGATEDMATERIAL.